Author: Douglas A. Kelt
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022653300X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 349
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Book Description
The taxonomy of recent mammals has lately undergone tremendous revision, but it has been decades since the last update to Timothy E. Lawlor’s acclaimed identification guide the Handbook to the Orders and Families of Living Mammals. Integrating the latest advances in research, Douglas A. Kelt and James L. Patton provide this long-overdue update in their new, wholly original work, A Manual of the Mammalia. Complemented by global range maps, high-resolution photographs of skulls and mandibles by Bill Stone, and the outstanding artwork of Fiona Reid, this book provides an overview of biological attributes of each higher taxon while highlighting key and diagnostic characters needed to identify skulls and skins of all recent mammalian orders and most families. Kelt and Patton also place taxa in their currently understood supra-familial clades, and discuss current challenges in higher mammal taxonomy. Including a comprehensive review of mammalian anatomy to provide a foundation for understanding all characters employed throughout, A Manual of the Mammalia is both a user-friendly handbook for students learning to identify higher mammal taxa and a uniquely comprehensive, up-to-date reference for mammalogists and mammal-lovers from across the globe.
Author: Malcolm C. McKenna
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231528535
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 654
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Book Description
-- Jean-Louis Hartenberger, Nature
Author: Alan F. Dixson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108699499
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 405
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Book Description
There are more than 6000 species belonging to twenty-seven orders in the Class Mammalia. Comparative studies of this diverse and magnificent array of extant species provide valuable opportunities to formulate and test hypotheses concerning the evolution of reproduction. This is the first book to explore, in depth and breadth, the complex interrelationships that exist between patterns of mating behaviour and the evolution of mammalian reproductive anatomy and physiology. It focuses upon the role that copulatory and post-copulatory sexual selection have played during the evolution of the monotremes, marsupials and placental mammals, and examines the effects of sperm competition and cryptic female choice upon coevolution of the genitalia in the two sexes. In addition, due weight is also given to discussions of the modes of life of mammals, and to the roles played by natural selection and phylogeny in determining their reproductive traits.
Author: Timothy E. Lawlor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
Author: Sydney Anderson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780671437275
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 520
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Book Description
As mammals ourselves, we have always been fascinated with this most advanced class of animals, and "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals" describes 426 species worldwide. A long and thoughtful introduction to the evolution, characteristics, and orders of mammals is followed by the entries -- all illustrated in full color -- each containing the mammal's classification, description, and habitat as well as details on behavior, feeding habits, and reproduction. The entries also feature colorful symbols to illustrate habitat, color maps to show the distribution and rarity of each species, and line drawings to indicate unusual or notable physical features. With more than 500 color photographs, "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals" is a superb and valuable reference.
Author: T. S. Kemp
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191079588
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186
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Book Description
From a modest beginning in the form of a little shrew-like, nocturnal, insect eating ancestor that lived 200 million years ago, mammals evolved into the huge variety of different kinds of animals we see today. Many species are still small, and follow the lifestyle of the ancestor, but others have adapted to become large grazers and browsers, like the antelopes, cattle, rhinos, and elephants, or the lions, hyaenas, and wolves that prey upon them. Yet others evolved to be specialist termite eaters able to dig into the hardest mounds, or tunnel creating burrowers, and a few took to the skies as gliders and the bats. Many live partly in the water, such as otters, beavers, and hippos, while whales and dugongs remain permanently in the seas, incapable of ever emerging onto land. In this Very Short Introduction T. S. Kemp explains how it is a tenfold increase in metabolic rate - endothermy or "warm-bloodedness" - that lies behind the high levels of activity, and the relatively huge brain associated with complex, adaptable behaviour that epitomizes mammals. He describes the remarkable fossil record, revealing how and when the mammals gained their characteristics, and the tortuous course of their subsequent evolution, during which many bizarre forms such as sabre-toothed cats, and 30-tonne, 6-m high browsers arose and disappeared. Describing the wonderful adaptations that mammals evolved to suit their varied modes of life, he also looks at those of the mainly arboreal primates that culminated ultimately in Homo sapiens. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Author: Ronald M. Nowak
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801882111
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 244
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Book Description
Authoritative and engaging, this volume from the Walker's Mammals series focuses on marsupials, pouched animals whose unusual method of reproduction—between egg laying and placental birth—places them in a unique category among mammals. A comprehensive guide to the biology and distribution of marsupials, this book includes common and scientific names, size and physical traits, habitat and ecology, behavior and social interactions, reproduction, life span, and conservation. The text is coupled with illustrations from the collections of leading photographers and the world's greatest museums. An introduction by marsupial expert Christopher R. Dickman describes the evolution and current status of marsupials and reveals why they add so much intrigue to the natural world.
Author: Gerardo Ceballos
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421408791
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 976
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Book Description
The most comprehensive reference on Mexico's diverse mammalian fauna. Mammals of Mexico is the first reference book in English on the more than 500 types of mammal species found in the diverse Mexican habitats, which range from the Sonoran Desert to the Chiapas cloud forests. The authoritative species accounts are written by a Who’s Who of experts compiled by famed mammalogist and conservationist Gerardo Ceballos. Ten years in the making, Mammals of Mexico covers everything from obscure rodents to whales, bats, primates, and wolves. It is thoroughly illustrated with color photographs and meticulous artistic renderings, as well as range maps for each species. Introductory chapters discuss biogeography, conservation, and evolution. The final section of the book illustrates the skulls, jaws, and tracks of Mexico’s mammals. This unparalleled collection of scientific information on, and photographs of, Mexican wildlife belongs on the shelf of every mammalogist, in public and academic libraries, and in the hands of anyone curious about Mexico and its wildlife.
Author: John L Long
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
ISBN: 0643099166
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 612
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Book Description
Winner in the Scholarly Reference section of the 2004 Australian Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing. Introduced Mammals of the World provides a concise and extensive source of information on the range of introductions of mammals conducted by humans, and an indication as to which have resulted in adverse outcomes. It provides a very valuable tool by which scientists can assess future potential introductions (or re-introductions) to avoid costly mistakes. It also provides tangible proof of the need for political decision makers to consider good advice and make wise and cautious decisions. Introduced Mammals of the World also provides a comprehensive reference to students of ecological systems management and biological conservation. This book is a companion volume to Introduced Birds of the World, by the same author, published in 1981, and which remains the premier text of its kind in the world more than twenty years after it was published. Introduced Mammals of the World provides the most comprehensive account of the movement of mammals around the world providing details on the date(s) of introduction, the person/agency responsible, the source populations, the location(s) of release, the fate of the introductions, and the impact if known, for over 300 species of mammal.
Author: Joseph F. Merritt
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801879507
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 334
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Book Description
Animals of this size face different physiological and ecological challenges than larger mammals.
